dailywordofdestiny

“Wherever you go, wherever you are, and in whatever circumstance you are in, does your life praise and serve the LORD?” I don’t often watch television, but last night I saw a commercial that really spoke to me. God will use whatever He desires to teach each of us about His kingdom and how it operates. The commercial revolved around various people helping others. Each person would “just do something” to help another person out and in every case, someone was watching their action. The person helping did not even realize s/he was being watched. I am convinced that it is in these unknown times that GOD is truly glorified. I am reminded of what Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6, “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. … But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be done in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (vs. 1-4). I am not sure God wants us to THINK about which hand is doing what, etc., but that we would just DO THINGS spontaneously, out of true, unconditional love for Him and others. God’s kingdom law will always be opposite from what is perceived as “politically correct” in the world view (John 18: 36; 1 Corinthians 3: 18-20; 2 Corinthians 6: 15-18).

Many religious leaders questioned Jesus about the greatest commandment and I believe many of us ask Him the same questions today. Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with ALL your soul and with ALL your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself…” (Matthew 22: 37-39). What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the LIVING God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore, come out from them and be separate. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you” (Matthew 6: 15-17). Are you a LIVING testimony of Jesus (indwelling you) to the world about you or, do you “blend in with the crowd?”

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me from Your presence or take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51: 10-12). Often our natural inclination is to please ourselves rather than God; our conduct (character and attitudes) is a dead give-away to the condition of our heart. I ask the LORD each day to purify my heart; to prepare my mind for right action; to be self-controlled, filled with His wisdom, and with His love.

Another issue that has come up at various times in my life is the feeling that I am just “going through the motions” in my daily walk with Christ. It is in these times that I will often find that I have not been in His word like I should have been and my prayer life was not at the level it needed to be. God wants me to be close to Him so that I may experience a full and complete life. My lack of initiative in communing with Him creates a chasm in our relationship. I take this opportunity to confess my need for Him in greater measure and for the JOY of His salvation. I ask that He will grant me willing and steadfast spirit to sustain me every moment of every day. We must ACTIVELY seek Him each day and His presence will be magnified in us and through us! “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men” (Matthew 5: 13).

“In the whole land,” declares the LORD, “two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third will be left in it. This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God’.” (Zechariah 13: 8, 9; also Malachi 3: 2, 3) The third was a remnant, a small part of the whole. Throughout the history of Israel, whenever the whole nation seemed to turn against God, God said that a righteous remnant still trusted and followed Him. These believers were then refined like silver and gold through the fire of their difficult circumstances.

In the process of refining metals, the raw metal is heated with fire until it melts…do any of you feel as though you are melting? Well, if so, praise the LORD! The impurities separate from it and rise to the surface; they are skimmed off (Romans 10: 13; Psalm 103: 12), leaving the pure metal. Without the heating and melting there could be no purifying. When all the impurities are skimmed off the top, the REFLECTION of the worker appears in the smooth, pure surface. As we are purified by God, His reflection in our lives will become more and more clear to those around us. Our LIFE REFLECTS CHRIST! Hallelujah!

The LORD would say unto you…
“Love is not premeditated. It is spontaneous. When I build in you My character, it becomes your first nature. I am love—not in your heart naturally, but supernaturally. Trying to prove or defend your love is a sure sign it is lacking. The sign that you love Me is to obey Me. Bring yourself to judgment quickly. Be holy as I am holy. I would not ask it if it was not possible. Be whole…in every area of your being—body, soul, and spirit. Know My power will never fail. Be confident, for yours is to be a double portion.”